Pupil Nondiscrimination: Chapter 985 of State Statutes Section 985.02(2)

No person/pupil will be denied admission to Tri-County Area School District or be denied participation in, be denied the benefits of or be discriminated against in any curricular, extracurricular, pupil services, recreational or other program or activity because of the person’s sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability.  This does not prohibit the provision of special programs or services based on objective standards of individual need or performance to meet the needs of pupils, including gifted and talented, special education, school age parents, bilingual bicultural, at risk and other special programs.

Pupil Nondiscrimination Complaint Procedures

Anyone who believes he/she is being discriminated against is encouraged to pursue a discrimination complaint in the following manner: Good faith discrimination complaints will be taken seriously and will be subject to review and investigation by the Administration. All individuals included in the investigation of these matters are charged with the responsibility to hold such matters in the strictest confidence to guard against the inadvertent disclosure of information relative to anyone.

1. Step I. Anyone who believes that he/she is being subjected to discrimination is encouraged to advise the discriminator(s) of his/her objection to the discriminating behavior/conduct to see if the discriminating behavior/conduct can be stopped. However, failure of the individual who believes he/she is being harassed to confront the discriminators does not prevent the discriminated individual from moving on to Step II of the procedure.
2. Step II. An individual believing he/she is being discriminated against should report the discrimination to the Principal or District Administrator verbally and/or in writing. Parents/guardians of a student who believes the student is being discriminated against can verbally and/or in writing report discrimination on behalf of their child to the Principal or District Administrator. If an individual is not comfortable with making a complaint to the Principal, the complaint may be made to a teacher or school counselor with the understanding that incidents must be reported to the Administration for review and action. The teacher or school counselor receiving the complaint shall report the complaint to the Principal or District Administrator. Any written report of discrimination received must be signed. If the parents/guardians have not been notified of a report of discrimination made by a student, the Principal or District Administrator shall notify them of the matter immediately. Any individual being discriminated against is to report the specific nature of the discriminating conduct/behavior the individual is being subjected too, the times and dates of the discriminating behavior/conduct , name(s) of the alleged person(s) doing the discriminating, name(s) of any witnesses, and what strategies were used to try and stop the discrimination, if any. To the extent possible, all complaints of discrimination will be handled in a confidential manner. The administration shall investigate the discrimination complaint thoroughly. The investigation may include notifying the person who has been accused of discrimination to the nature of the discrimination complaint, permitting the accused person to respond to the discrimination allegations, and making arrangements for a private meeting to discuss the discrimination complaint with the individual being discriminated against. The purpose of this step is to resolve the complaint with all concerned parties within a reasonable period of time after receipt of notice of the discrimination complaint.
3. STEP III.  If the parties involved in the discrimination issue are not satisfied with the resolution of the discrimination complaint at Step II, either party may refer the matter to the District Administrator. The appeal should be made to the District Administrator in writing within ten (10) calendar days following the conclusion of Step II or receiving a decision by the Principal. The District Administrator shall arrange a private meeting with the parties to discuss the discrimination matter. The District Administrator shall provide a written response to the parties within 15 days of holding the meeting with the parties.
4. STEP IV.  If the parties involved in the discrimination issue are not satisfied with the decision of the District Administrator at Step III, either party may appeal the matter in writing to the Board. The appeal shall state the specific reason for disagreement with the response provided by the District Administrator. The appeal to the Board should be filed with the Board in a reasonable period of time. The Board shall arrange a closed session meeting with the parties to discuss the appeal. The Board shall give the parties a written response to the appeal within 20 working days.
5. STEP V.  If the discrimination complaint is not resolved to the satisfaction of the parties involved or in lieu of using these procedures, the individual being discriminated against may appeal to the appropriate governmental agency. This may include but is not limited to the following: State Superintendent of Public Instruction or U. S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.  

Any questions concerning this policy should be directed to: Anthony Marinack, District Administrator, 409 S. West Street Plainfield, Wisconsin 54966.